YourVoice.Now Summary
Workers & JobsCorporate BenefitsTransparency & AccountabilityNurses at Medicare hospitals and clinics could refuse forced overtime without losing their jobs — but nursing homes and federal hospitals are left out.
Workers & Jobs
A nurse who turns down mandatory overtime could not be fired, demoted, paid less, or reported to the state licensing board. The same shield would cover a nurse who reports a violation to managers, regulators, an accreditation body, coworkers, or a union.
Required meetings, education, and training would count as hours worked. So would on-call or standby time, whether or not the nurse has to be at the facility. A nurse could still volunteer for overtime, and state laws that protect nurses more would still stand.
A provider could not require a nurse to stay past a scheduled shift, work more than 48 hours in a week, or work more than 12 hours straight. After a 12-hour stretch, 10 hours off would follow. Covered sites are hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, hospital outpatient departments, critical access hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, home health agencies, rehabilitation agencies, clinics including rural health clinics, and federally qualified health centers. Nursing homes and hospices are not on that list. "Nurse" means a registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or licensed vocational nurse.
During a declared emergency or disaster the hour limits would drop away, but only if the provider first tried other ways to staff the shift, the extra work ends when the emergency does, the vacancy surfaced at the end of the prior shift, and leaving would put an assigned patient at risk. Chronic understaffing and health-care labor disputes are ruled out as emergencies. There is no ordinary carve-out for a procedure in progress outside a declared emergency.
Corporate Benefits
Following the limits would become a condition of a provider's Medicare agreement. Providers would have to write mandatory-overtime policies, document each forced shift, and post a notice of nurses' rights. The health secretary could fine a provider up to $10,000 for each knowing violation and must set heavier penalties for repeated patterns. Nothing would take effect until one year after enactment.
Transparency & Accountability
The health department would publish the names of providers fined under this rule, the violation involved, and whatever else it decides to add. If a provider changes owners, the prior owner's penalties come off the site after one year.
Each covered site would post nurse schedules for the unit in a visible place and hand a nurse the daily schedule on request. A posted sign would spell out nurses' rights and how to file a complaint with the health secretary.
The budget office would report to Congress within six months on how far Veterans Affairs, Defense Department, and other federal medical facilities stray from these limits, with recommendations. A separate research study on safe maximum hours is due in two years. The limits themselves would not apply to federal facilities.
More about this bill
A nurse could turn down extra hours and keep their job. Hospitals and clinics that take Medicare would have to stop forcing overtime. A nurse could not be made to stay past a scheduled shift. The limits would also cap work at 48 hours a week and 12 hours in a row. After a 12-hour shift, a nurse would get 10 hours off before coming back. Time on call would count, even at home. So would required meetings and training. A nurse could still choose to work extra hours. The rules would reach hospitals, surgery centers, home health agencies, rehab agencies, clinics, and health centers. Nursing homes are not on the list. Neither are hospitals run by the Veterans Affairs or Defense departments. Those federal sites would get a study instead. One exception exists. During a declared emergency or disaster, a hospital could require longer hours. Even then it must first try other ways to fill the shift. Short staffing alone would not count as an emergency. Neither would a strike or other labor fight. A nurse who says no could not be fired, demoted, or paid less. The hospital also could not report that nurse to the state licensing board. Nurses could file complaints with the health secretary. A site could be fined up to $10,000 for each knowing violation. Repeat offenders would face steeper fines, and the names of fined sites would be posted online. The change would start one year after the bill became law.
Congressional Summary
Nurse Overtime and Patient Safety Act This bill requires certain providers, as a condition of Medicare participation, to limit mandatory overtime for nurses. Specifically, the bill prohibits hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, home health agencies, rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, and other specified providers from requiring nurses to work (1) more than a previously scheduled shift, 48 hours in a workweek, or 12 consecutive hours in a 24-hour period; or (2) during the 10 hours immediately following the 12th hour worked in a shift during a 24-hour period. Qualifying work hours include time spent in training, on call, and on standby. The bill's provisions do not apply during declared emergencies or disasters, subject to specified conditions, and do not preclude voluntary overtime. The bill also establishes (1) certain protections for nurses who file complaints against providers, (2) documentation and notice requirements for providers, and (3) potential civil penalties for violations.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-08-06
- Date Added
- 2026-08-27
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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